Stereotype

Right after the bell was heard, Adam entered the classroom. As the rest of the students either left or dispersed, Gerard got up and met him and Brandon at the back.

"Let's do this quick," Brandon said. "We gotta make it to our next classes and I also don't want Matt to suspect."

Gerard followed the other's gaze and saw Matt talking to John by the door. He nodded. "Just...please tell me what the deal is. You know Matt won't hear a thing from me."

"Okay," Adam started, taking a deep breath.  "About a year ago, we went to the locker room before practice and someone had written a message for Matt on the blackboard there..."

"What did it say?" Gerard asked.

"It said: 'Confirmed. The Phillips kid is a fag.'"

Gerard frowned at Adam in confusion. "Well, but...Zach told Frank that he's not gay..."

The two brothers looked at each other with an odd expression, their eyes shifting nervously. Gerard figured they could somehow communicate without words like he and Mikey sometimes did.

After a while Adam stuttered, "He's not," and lowered his eyes apprehensively.

Gerard didn't need them to say more. For someone as observant as him, Adam's gestures had spoken books. Meditating about the information he had gotten, Gerard guessed whoever had written that message was only concerned about the Phillips who were part of the team. That made Adam the younger; the kid. But since Matt wasn't a thinker, he hadn't interpreted it that way.

He needed to confirm his theory. "Oh...so, Matt thought it was about Zach, but..."

"...it was about me," Adam completed. "I'm the one who's gay."

"And you didn't tell him?"

Brandon interceded for his brother. "Adam motioned for me to shut up and honestly...I was afraid of what would happen if Matt knew. We don't know why the couch does whatever the hell Matt says, and Matt won't tell us, but you've already heard about the kids he got him to kick out of the team."

"But you sold your brother to those bullies to save your asses, then!" Gerard couldn't believe what he had heard. How could the team be that important to them?

The bell rang again and other students began to slowly fill the classroom, so the three boys made their way out of it.

Stopping next to a drinking fountain, Adam grabbed Gerard's arm and brought him closer so they could continue to speak. "We didn't sell Zach. We thought Matt'd do nothing to him. We demanded that they left him alone and they said they would!"

"Well, they didn't!" Gerard pointed out.

"We already told you and Frankie that we didn't know it'd been them who did that to Zach," Brandon said in a shaky voice. Gerard could tell they felt guilty now that they knew, and stupid for not having thought of it before. Maybe they were finally ready to do something about it.

"You guys need to clear that up with Matt...face that fucker!"

"Not sure I have the balls, sorry," Adam declared, walking away before Gerard could say anything in return.

"Don't," Brandon stopped Gerard from following him. "Adam's just scared. I'll try to convince him; but even if I can't, I'll see what we can do. Promise." He then ran after his brother, leaving Gerard standing there wondering what was so great about some fucking school sport team. 

******

Later on, after the last period, Gerard met Frank in the bathroom. It had become a habit to wait for the younger boy to take off his make up and then leave the school together; even if they then went their separate ways sometimes.

He had several things to tell Frank, but decided to start with the one he cared the least about: the F the English teacher had added to his file for failing to answer any of the questions about that yet-unknown-to-him book.

Frank mentioned his unsurprising A in Biology very quickly, then proceeded to freak out about Gerard's F as if it was the end of the world. It took some convincing, but Gerard finally made Frank see that it wasn't very important and he could easily fix it by actually paying attention from now on. Those had been especial circumstances. His mission had weighted more than school obligations. In the end, Frank blushed and admitted that he sometimes took school too seriously. Gerard laughed and agreed, but really just found it cute.

Once Frank eased up on his school fanaticism, he seemed pensive. "Oh but then...you got something out of Adam and Brandon at least?" he asked, tucking the package of make-up remover wipes into his backpack. Several voices could be still heard outside, so they didn't move to leave. "'Cause I failed with Zach."

"Well, you succeeded with the lesson, so it's a tie," Gerard joked. "Yeah, got them to speak."

As Gerard told Frank everything he had learned from Adam and Brandon, the younger one's features hardened progressively. His hands gripped the sink behind him so tightly that his knuckles went white and his whole arms were shaking. When Gerard ran a hand through his back and dared tell him to calm down, Frank went on a rant about how the Phillips were worse than his brother. His hands now alternated between flailing around madly and hitting anything within his reach. 

"I'll fucking...kick their asses to a pulp. And Matt's. And the asses of everyone who agrees with them or does nothing to stop them. Then I'll fucking burn the fucking football field, and the bleachers, and..."

"Frankie..."

"How can they care about the fucking team more than their brother?" Frank continued to let out his indignation. 

"It's not that, they just thought-"

"No excuses!"

Gerard wanted to stop his friend before his anger escalated and he decided to go find the guys and attack them; or committed school vandalism. Both of them knew Frank was no fighter. Neither was Gerard, for that matter. 

He resorted to the only thing he could think of: a change of subject. "In other news, the coach told me I'm part of the team."

Frank stilled. All the anger abandoned his face and he lifted one eyebrow with what Gerard read as confusion. "But...weren't you part of the team already?"

"In a way, yeah. But now I'm like...in the team," Gerard tried an explanation. Seeing Frank just blink at him, he added, "I mean, I'm gonna actually play at the game. Whenever that is after Winter break."

"Oh." Frank's eyes grew wide. "Congratulations, Gee!"

Gerard just stared at the grinning boy deadpan. Had Frank heard any happiness in his voice? Had he not ever listened to what he had been saying about the team and football in general practically since they met?

Frank must have caught on Gerard's lack of response and seen his mistake, because his face fell and he said, "Right. No good news to you. Sorry, wrong reaction."

"It's okay." Gerard gave Frank a smile to show him he wasn't angry. "Your reaction was the normal one for these kind of news. I guess I should think of it as something good too, since I bother to go to the practices and all that shit. It's just...I feel more and more like a liar..."

"But you do know how to play, that's not a lie."

"Yeah, but...I don't want to be playing," Gerard noted with a slight whine. "Not fair for those who do!"

Frank nodded understandingly. "Now that you mention it, you being in means someone was left out of the game."

"Yes, Brian. The good Brian."

"Fuck."

"Fuck indeed. He told me it's okay, that he doesn't mind. But I feel like and asshole. Makes me wanna say the truth and-"

"No!" Frank let out. "Not yet! Tried to w-"

"Hey!" came a man's voice from outside together with a strong knock. "Whoever is in there, the building closes in two minutes! Out!"

The two boys ran to open the door and then out of the bathroom, past the irritated janitor. They made it outside of the building thinking everybody else had left, but were surprised to be almost tackled by an excited James.

"Guys! Guys! My mom just gave me the total okay in a text!" he announced.

Frank tilted his head, looking up at James' shit-eating grin. "Uh?"

"The okay...to what?" asked Gerard. It was one of the many occasions when James lost him.

"Oh...I never told you?" James frowned, then mumbled to himself, "Why in the milky way did I not..."

"No, you didn't tell me..."

"Ahh right!" He hit his head. "I wanted it to be a surprise, that's why. Costume party at my house this Saturday!"

"J...it's near Christmas, not Halloween," Frank pointed out.

"Always so enlightening, Frankie-boy! You are correct. But mom didn't let me have the house for Halloween 'cause they were painting. So...you're both invited, of course. 8pm, don't forget! You've three days to find costumes. Enough, so get on it!"

"Excuse me," said Steven, suddenly appearing from behind James and resting an elbow on his shoulder. "Did you just invite the fairy to your party?"

James turned around abruptly, bringing Steve close to falling down without his support. "A fairy? Nope, just Gerard and Frankie," he answered. Next he waved at the small group and walked away with a spring in his steps.